Lambies Lost Doo Posted August 30 Report Share Posted August 30 Euan Henderson scored a lot for Airdrie last year. We have him available soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Dastardly Posted August 30 Report Share Posted August 30 On 8/29/2026 at 5:23 PM, dl1971 said: Worth mentioning that we have Henderson to come back it. He'll score a few imo.. On the plus side I've seen many thistle teams dominate games like that only to lose a goal ourselves. At least that didn't happen.. 16 minutes ago, Lambies Lost Doo said: Euan Henderson scored a lot for Airdrie last year. We have him available soon. Groundhog Day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
partickthedog Posted August 30 Report Share Posted August 30 2 hours ago, Auld Jag said: Imo we should be practising finishing and set pieces. As already mentioned our corners were mostly the same type, our free kicks weren't any better. Set pieces are a big part of the game and we need to vary what we are doing with ours. Agreed that for numerous corners in a row in the second half, we went for the same Drozd delivery, inswinging on top of the keeper right on the goal line. That was a reasonable tactic to try 2 or 3 times. However QP found a way of defending these well, and so the approach should have been varied. In the past I would have been very much in the "get it in the box right away" brigade, and I still think that there is little more frustrating (apart from putting the ball straight out of play) than a short corner that ends up with players being caught by the touchline and the ball never even getting near the penalty box. I am now much more of a fan of a slick fast short corner routine. Drozd and Fitzy are the ideal combination for this, and they worked it perfectly for our second goal against Livingston. Anything that gets either of these two running at pace at one defender has to be worth a go, but I cannot recall this being tried yesterday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaggernaut Posted August 30 Report Share Posted August 30 3 hours ago, jlsarmy said: The key paragraph was “ oversee the recruitment & scouting network ensuring a data driven and strategic approach to identifying talent “ Do you seriously think that has happened? Maybe this has all arisen because of a typo?: the "oversee" should be "oversea". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaggernaut Posted August 30 Report Share Posted August 30 As somebody mentioned yesterday (I think), on countless occasions we were halfway inside QP's half, and they had 10 or even all 11 players in defensive position. Our tactic, time and time again: a square pass from one static midfielder to another, who might simply pass it back to the original passer, if a defender approaches him (i.e., the "get rid of this as fast as I can" action). Or, one of the two might wait until one of our wingers has actually run back, i.e., in the opposite direction from the QP goal, and is standing waiting to receive a pass, with already one or two defenders closing in on him. Drozd, despite having a decent enough game overall, was faced with this situation of having to try to beat two men from a standing start, with our other attackers simply standing watching what he'll do.... he often lost the ball in these circumstances. Sideways passing (especially at a leisurely pace) does not equate to "attacking" football. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Dastardly Posted August 31 Report Share Posted August 31 You are missing the point of the possession passing. You should not be watching the ball and the short sideways passes, but what is happening elsewhere. The point of this tactic is to allow the forward players to make runs, pulling marking defenders out of position and allowing space for other to move into. In your example, the winger coming deep has pulled their marker with them. There is now space out wide, where the winger was, allowing Samuel, or Watt to pull their marker with them and now we have a hole in the middle of the defence for a midfielder to exploit. There are other patterns, but it always requires movement off the ball. Done right it can be very effective, as proven by many top sides. It is the movement off the ball that is not happening with the current Jags. “Our other attackers simply standing watching” is the issue here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenziejag Posted August 31 Report Share Posted August 31 11 hours ago, jlsarmy said: So basically you’re saying our scouting network has progressed as far as Airdrie , Ayr and Forfar I’m not sure that’s why we employed a Sporting Director Dismissing players because they come from lower placed clubs is misplaced in my view. We have had many from lower leagues who have become standout at Thistle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lambies Lost Doo Posted August 31 Report Share Posted August 31 Do people realize we are a Scottish 2nd tier club? It's very difficult to get past 10 players in a low block. I feel in these games people have been watching Sky or TNT Sports and thinking English Premiership & Champions League is the standard for everything. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlsarmy Posted August 31 Report Share Posted August 31 49 minutes ago, Lenziejag said: Dismissing players because they come from lower placed clubs is misplaced in my view. We have had many from lower leagues who have become standout at Thistle. I’m not dismissing these players , though none of them Logan , Dempsey or Henderson look as if they’re going to be first choice players but part of the squad Main point is these transfers could have been done without the employment of a Sporting Director Hopegully our Sporting Director has something lined up in the forward area before the deadline . 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Dastardly Posted August 31 Report Share Posted August 31 6 minutes ago, jlsarmy said: I’m not dismissing these players , though none of them Logan , Dempsey or Henderson look as if they’re going to be first choice players but part of the squad Main point is these transfers could have been done without the employment of a Sporting Director Hopegully our Sporting Director has something lined up in the forward area before the deadline . And you know that they would have come to Thistle rather than someone else, without the influence of the Sporting Director ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eljaggo Posted August 31 Report Share Posted August 31 We won't win the League unless the players and the Club take risks. They are currently risk averse. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenski Posted August 31 Report Share Posted August 31 1 hour ago, jlsarmy said: I’m not dismissing these players , though none of them Logan , Dempsey or Henderson look as if they’re going to be first choice players but part of the squad Main point is these transfers could have been done without the employment of a Sporting Director Hopegully our Sporting Director has something lined up in the forward area before the deadline . They absolutely could be done without a Sporting Director, but then the Head Coach is distracted from other aspects of his role - training, coaching, tactics etc. When I've heard the management team talk about this, it very much sounds that recruitment is managed collectively with Wilson having final say. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dl1971 Posted August 31 Report Share Posted August 31 Most rational fans i would argue would say the squad that has been built is stronger than it has been ( let's say going back 5 seasons ). We will know after the first round of games whether that is true or not. If we had won that game on Saturday I don't imagine any fan would criticise the recruitment.....the term knee jerk absolutely applies. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lady-isobel-barnett Posted August 31 Report Share Posted August 31 36 minutes ago, fenski said: They absolutely could be done without a Sporting Director, but then the Head Coach is distracted from other aspects of his role - training, coaching, tactics etc. When I've heard the management team talk about this, it very much sounds that recruitment is managed collectively with Wilson having final say. True. I shouldn't possibly reduce this to a horses for courses argument but there's definitely an element here. The best of tacticians and/or coaching can know heehaw about contracts and other aspects of management. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jordanhill Jag Posted August 31 Report Share Posted August 31 2 hours ago, eljaggo said: We won't win the League unless the players and the Club take risks. They are currently risk averse. What sort of risks ? spend more money ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jordanhill Jag Posted August 31 Report Share Posted August 31 3 hours ago, Lenziejag said: Dismissing players because they come from lower placed clubs is misplaced in my view. We have had many from lower leagues who have become standout at Thistle. Some of our best players have come from the Juniors 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaggernaut Posted August 31 Report Share Posted August 31 4 hours ago, Dick Dastardly said: You are missing the point of the possession passing. You should not be watching the ball and the short sideways passes, but what is happening elsewhere. The point of this tactic is to allow the forward players to make runs, pulling marking defenders out of position and allowing space for other to move into. In your example, the winger coming deep has pulled their marker with them. There is now space out wide, where the winger was, allowing Samuel, or Watt to pull their marker with them and now we have a hole in the middle of the defence for a midfielder to exploit. There are other patterns, but it always requires movement off the ball. Done right it can be very effective, as proven by many top sides. It is the movement off the ball that is not happening with the current Jags. “Our other attackers simply standing watching” is the issue here. Appreciated. Will watch things closely next time, looking especially for what you describe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaggernaut Posted August 31 Report Share Posted August 31 31 minutes ago, lady-isobel-barnett said: True. I shouldn't possibly reduce this to a horses for courses argument but there's definitely an element here. The best of tacticians and/or coaching can know heehaw about contracts and other aspects of management. Nice donkey vocalization insertion after the horses idiom! Full equid points there, M'Lady. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laukat Posted August 31 Report Share Posted August 31 Hearts and Motherwell seem to be making very good use of analytics in recruitment of managers and players. My original understanding of Analytics was that it identifying playing statistics so you could get relatively unknown players in but improve performances and results. However I think it also gathers information on player contracts, market valuations and family history to understand the likely total costs of a player. I suspect the analytics they use aren't cheap enough or cover the markets we recruit in to be viable for a Scottish Championship club and we have decided to go with a Sporting Director as affordable interim step. So for Barraclough to be doing his job well he either need to have the information on relatively unknown players and/or have information on player contracts and costs that provide better value from known players. Someone like Dempsey was clearly a player Ayr wanted to keep and rumour was he wanted to go back south. So perhaps Barraclough's knowledge and influence brought him to us without a fee and at a lower cost that our management team would have had the time or knowledge to do? Drozd wasn't someone on most Thistle fans radar but he does look to be a good player, got decent experience at this level, secured without a transfer fee and probably not on huge money. Henderson also could fit the mould of relatively young, good experience at this level and again probably not on anything like the money of Turner, MacKay etc So maybe the value in Barraclough isn't just in finding and unknown from the 7th tier of English football, maybe its in securing the best known talent at a cost we can afford? To understand that probably means seeing the accounts 12 next year 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlsarmy Posted August 31 Report Share Posted August 31 1 hour ago, laukat said: Hearts and Motherwell seem to be making very good use of analytics in recruitment of managers and players. My original understanding of Analytics was that it identifying playing statistics so you could get relatively unknown players in but improve performances and results. However I think it also gathers information on player contracts, market valuations and family history to understand the likely total costs of a player. I suspect the analytics they use aren't cheap enough or cover the markets we recruit in to be viable for a Scottish Championship club and we have decided to go with a Sporting Director as affordable interim step. So for Barraclough to be doing his job well he either need to have the information on relatively unknown players and/or have information on player contracts and costs that provide better value from known players. Someone like Dempsey was clearly a player Ayr wanted to keep and rumour was he wanted to go back south. So perhaps Barraclough's knowledge and influence brought him to us without a fee and at a lower cost that our management team would have had the time or knowledge to do? Drozd wasn't someone on most Thistle fans radar but he does look to be a good player, got decent experience at this level, secured without a transfer fee and probably not on huge money. Henderson also could fit the mould of relatively young, good experience at this level and again probably not on anything like the money of Turner, MacKay etc So maybe the value in Barraclough isn't just in finding and unknown from the 7th tier of English football, maybe its in securing the best known talent at a cost we can afford? To understand that probably means seeing the accounts 12 next year In terms of viability in future years , we either have a Trading Model similar to Motherwell etc or provide a pathway for young players to develop and play first team football. Hopefully having a Sporting Director in place will help these methods come to fruition. Unfortunately at this moment the signs aren’t promising. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jagfox Posted August 31 Report Share Posted August 31 I'm glad we didn't get beat on Saturday... It was a poor result but you win against that type of setup with the chances created 9/10. It is good we now realise what we will be facing for the rest of the season and the management can work on that. Not a lot wrong overall with the way we played. *I retain the right to redact this post if we don't win on Saturday versus Ayr 🤪 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Thistle Archive Posted August 31 Report Share Posted August 31 Alas, our site is down today. A copule of bits n bobs for those missing their Monday morning TTA fix... TTA report: When you have 76% possession, 19 corners, 20 shots (7 on target, but invariably straight at the keeper) and your keeper has no saves to make against a pointless team with 10 men behind the ball, making time wasting an art form, it's not your day. Thistle's finishing could have been more clinical but inevitably they just ran out of ideas. Stats Watch: For just the second time in history, Jags have opened the league season with the concession of just 1 goal in the opening 4 games, matching the similarly mean tally of 2012-13. For the first time in history, Thistle go 10 home games unbeaten vs. Queen's Park in all competitions. Thistle go 18 league games unbeaten, and now take over from Inverness CT as the club with the longest such run in the SPFL. Thistle are now just 2 off matching the all-time best run of 23 home league games unbeaten, a club-record which has stood for 115 years. (ongoing sequences): 9 away League games without defeat; 30th Jan 2026 to date. Longest run since: 9 games; 15th Oct 2021 to 1st Mar 2022. Club-record: 13 games; 5th Dec 1970 to 11th Sep 1971. 14 competitive home games without defeat; 17th Jan 2026 to date. Longest run since: 14 games; 20th Oct 2007 to 1st Apr 2008. Club-record: 24 games; 5th May 2001 to 17th Aug 2002. 18 League games without defeat, 24th Jan 2026 to date. Longest run since: 21 games; 19th Jan 2013 to 16th Aug 2013. Club-record: 27 games; 21st Nov 1970 to 18th Sep 1971. 21 home League games without defeat; 25th Apr 2025 to date. Longest run since: 21 games; 5th May 2001 to 17th Aug 2002. Joint club-record: 23 games; 27th Aug 1910 to 14th Oct 1911 & 29th Aug 1970 to 6th Nov 1971. 29 consecutive competitive appearances for Robbie Crawford, 24th Jan 2026 to date. Longest run since: Paddy Reading - 33 games, 4th Oct 2025 to 18th Apr 2026. Club-record: Johnny Jackson - 313 games, 28th Aug 1926 to 25th Mar 1933. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Dastardly Posted August 31 Report Share Posted August 31 6 hours ago, Jaggernaut said: Appreciated. Will watch things closely next time, looking especially for what you describe. Trouble is that we don’t do it very well. As I said, the forwards lack the movement that this needs. Watch how some of the top teams do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jagfox Posted September 1 Report Share Posted September 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaggernaut Posted September 1 Report Share Posted September 1 I need to pay more attention to Smyth, as I probably focus on the awful wayward passes that seem to be guaranteed in every game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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